Delray Rawlins hailed his future Southern Brave team-mates as “exciting” after being drafted by the franchise for a minimum £50,000 (about $65,000) in Sunday night’s historic inaugural draft for The Hundred.

Launching in 2020, the competition will bring a fresh take on the sport as teams compete over 100 balls and with some twists on cricket as we know it.

Rawlins will feature for the Southampton-based outfit alongside some of the biggest names in world cricket, including Australia’s David Warner and West Indies’ Andre Russell.

“[Russell and Warner] are two of the best in the world at what they do and even some of the county cricketers in that team, guys like James Vince and Ollie Pope and a lot of the other guys, too,” Rawlins told The Royal Gazette on the sidelines of the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in Dubai.

“It’s an exciting team and hopefully we can do something special and win the first one.”

There will also be the familiar faces of 2019 World Cup winner Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan in the newly founded franchise, with both his Sussex colleagues also being snapped up by Southern Brave.

Archer, a former housemate who now spends the majority of his year playing with England rather than alongside Rawlins at Sussex, will be a particularly fond reacquaintance given the pair’s great friendship.

“Jofra is a real good friend of mine,” the 22-year-old said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together and actually lived together for a few years before moving our separate ways. He’s a really close mate. We keep in touch all the time and I see him whenever he’s back at home or I’m back at home.

“We have a good relationship, so it’s good to be around him and someone like Chris Jordan, who I have a good relationship with at Sussex as well. It’s nice to have two familiar faces around you and try to pick the brains of them as well as the others.”

Rawlins was keyed into the draft from the Gulf, but missed the moment he was signed up after trying to race back to the team’s hotel in time to see his name called.

“Once it got to my round, we were trying to make it back to the hotel in time, but when I was drafted I was in the midst of trying to get back to the hotel,” Rawlins added. “When we did, my phone started going off, so it kind of gave it away. It was a nice feeling and I’m really excited, of course.

“It’s something as a county cricket collective we’ve been waiting for. It was nice to be picked up and it’s something to look forward to next summer.”

By the time The Hundred rolls around in July, Rawlins will be entering the final months of his Sussex contract and he hopes that further impressive displays in all competitions next season will earn him a new deal at Hove.

“I’ve got until the end of the summer, but I’ll just wait to see what happens, try to put the performances on the field to try and earn myself another contract, but I don’t know what the club have on offer at the moment,” said Rawlins, who scored his maiden first-class century for Sussex last season.

“I haven’t spoken to them and they haven’t spoken to me; it’s just about doing the right things and trying to win games of cricket and put in good performances.”